NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will hold bilateral meetings with his American counterparts next week in the US to discuss ways to boost trade and investments ties, an official statement said on Friday.
The minister will be on a six-day visit to San Francisco and Los Angeles from September 5 to attend the India-US Strategic Partnership Forum conference and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) ministerial meeting.
He will also interact with eminent business persons, US officials and industry leaders during the visit to enhance the partnership between the nations and strengthen trade and economic ties, it said.
"The visit would focus upon emphasizing the attractiveness of India as the most preferred investment destination," the commerce ministry said.
The two-day IPEF meet will be held from September 8 in Los Angeles.
He will meet US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and US Secretary of Commerce Gina M Raimondo on the sidelines of the IPEF ministerial meeting.
The IPEF was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23 at Tokyo.
It seeks to strengthen economic partnership among participating countries with the objective of enhancing resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness and competitiveness in the region.
The 14 members of the IPEF are -- Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the US.
In this ministerial meet, discussions will be held around four pillars relating to trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy.
Further, Goyal is expected to interact with globally renowned technology, entrepreneurship, and academic communities in the Bay Area, specifically in the Silicon Valley, to undertake focused discussions with American companies looking to invest or expand in India across sectors like electronics (including semiconductors), technology, and fintech.
There would also be interactive sessions with key players in the startup ecosystem, including funds, venture capitalists, angel investors, and unicorns.
The focus would also be to promote and facilitate investments and expansion by key American players in India across strategic sectors; engage with the vibrant startup community there to explore greater partnerships with the Indian startup ecosystem, and mobilise global capital for domestic markets.
The US surpassed China to become India's top trading partner in 2021-22. According to data from the commerce ministry, trade between the US and India stood at $119.42 billion in 2021-22 as against $80.51 billion in 2020-21.
